"We had made some gift bags up to take along with us to hand out and tried to get in touch with the owners to check if this was okay.

"However, when I tried to ring the number it said that it was invalid and we were getting no response from the email provided on the website either.

"My sister's partner went down to the Ritz to investigate and he said that it looked completely closed and empty. At this point we really started to panic as it was just two days before the event for the hen do.

"As a last resort we rang the Wetherspoons below the cinema to see if they knew anything. They told us that the owner had packed up and left and wasn't coming back. They hadn't realised that no one had been told about the closure.

"We are now left in a situation where we have no venue or money as we paid £110 for the tickets at the cinema. It now looks like we're going to have to cancel the hen do and my sister may not have one.

"A lot of people had no idea it had gone, and it's just the fact that we weren't informed sooner as we could have organised something else if it wasn't so last minute."

The Ritz Cinema and Theatre had been through major renovations in 2012 to transform it back into an entertainment venue.

Ritz owner Pete Gendes said the cinema had to close as it was not in a position to renew its lease.

Pete Genders during the restoration of the Ritz

He told Lincolnshire Live: "Sadly The Ritz is now closed, we are very sad the project had ended but are very thankful to all the wonderful volunteers and customers over the last five years that made the project so fantastic.

"The five years came to an end this year and as a volunteer-led project we were not in a position to renew the lease so the cinema has had to close.